U.S.-backed regime faces resistance

By
Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Published Oct 27, 2010 8:06 PM

A military and political crisis for the U.S.-backed Transitional Federal
Government in Somalia has prompted calls for additional troop deployments under
the ostensible command of the United Nations Security Council. Both the U.S.
and the secretary general for the U.N. have publicly acknowledged that nearly
8,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops propping up the TFG have not been able to
effectively challenge the growing influence of Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen
(popularly known as Al-Shabaab) and Hizbul Islam, the leading resistance groups
inside the Horn of Africa nation.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson recently called for a more
aggressive approach to combating the resistance forces in Somalia. During a
speech at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International
Studies, Carson said that so far the present approach has been too slow and
unorganized.

Over the last two years the U.S. has spent more than $200 million to bankroll
the TFG and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). “We want to
encourage the TFG to be more than just a government in name only,” said
Carson. (Stars and Stripes, Oct. 19)

The U.S. is now committed to initiating what it describes as a dual-track
approach that includes both engaging neighboring states as well as bolstering
the military presence in Somalia to 20,000 troops that will carry out the aims
and objectives of the imperialist states. This approach will also include
cooperation with the breakaway territories of Somaliland and Puntland, which
are not recognized by either the U.N. or the African Union.

Carson told the audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
that “under that new strategy, we will pursue more partnerships with the
regional governments of Somaliland and Puntland as well as local and regional
administrative units throughout South Central Somalia who are opposed to the
al-Shabaab but who are not allied to the TFG.” (voanews.com, Oct. 21)

In a disingenuous approach to undermine the existing AU policy of ostensibly
promoting national unity in Somalia, Carson noted, “By doing this, we are
not in any way attempting to go around what is in fact the principle of the AU,
which is to only recognize a single Somali state. We will not as parts of this
strategy recognize Somaliland and Puntland.”

But some scholars with the Center for Strategic and International Studies have
stated that the new U.S. policy is futile and will not bring stability to
Somalia. Richard Downie, an African policy analyst, said that he was “not
sure if investing more in the north helps secure the south ... or furthers the
goal of a united Somalia.

“That goal is so far off right now as to be unobtainable, so the new
focus I think is more on the short to medium term. It doesn’t make sense
to have all the policy eggs in one basket,” said Downie. (Stars and
Stripes, Oct. 19)

Although the U.S. administration would never say it, Downie appears to
recognize that the TFG is not the entity that can bring stability to Somalia.
However, Downie notes that such a statement exposes the ineffectiveness of the
U.S. approach in the region. According to him “It reflects the fact that
the TFG is probably a doomed project.”

U.S. policy breeds resistance

In addition to the call for a new approach by the U.S., AU Commissioner for
Peace and Security Ramtane Lamamra also urged the U.N. to impose a naval
blockade and no-fly zone against Somalia. This is the rationale for the
deployment of at least 20,000 troops that would add to the existing AMISOM
forces and the flotillas of warships already stationed off the coast of the
Horn of Africa. (AHN, Oct. 21)

A recently released study issued by Chatham House in Britain illustrates that
the policies enacted by the U.S. and other imperialist states concerning the
Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula are creating greater opposition to
Western influence in the region. The report makes a strong case against further
militarization and external political intervention.

The report states: “Donors have little to show for their state-building
efforts because their policy template does not fit with local realities, in
which power is only partially structured through government ministries, if at
all. In Somalia, for example, real power remains diffused among a host of local
actors, with overlapping boundaries among clans, business people, Islamists of
different hues and a sizable overseas Diaspora.

“Attempts to achieve stabilization by building a state-level security
apparatus are demonstrably failing in Somalia and are unlikely to fare better
in Yemen, because they are often perceived by the local population as a form of
aggression. The critical ingredients missing from external efforts to build
state security are political legitimacy and systems of accountability.”
(chathamhouse.org.uk)

Consequently, the U.S. and other imperialist states and their allies in the
region must withdraw their forces from Somalia in order for peace and stability
to be achieved. Anti-war and peace activists in the West must oppose military
intervention in the Horn of Africa and uphold the right of self-determination
and sovereignty for the peoples of the region.

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